Victor Osimhen scored a brace to help Napoli produce one of the comprehensive football results of the midweek action in the Champions League. Napoli won 5-0 on aggregate thanks to goals from Victor Osimhen in each half and a penalty conversion by Piotr Zielinski in the second half. For the first time since 2006, three Italian teams have reached the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition. Because there are no longer any restrictions on clubs from the same country playing one other, Napoli could meet Inter Milan or AC Milan in the draw on Friday. The other teams in the last eight are Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid.
The evening was marred by fan violence in the city’s streets, but on the field, it was one-way traffic as a Piotr Zielinski penalty sealed victory for the Serie A leaders. Napoli was always the favorite to advance after a good win in Germany, and Osimhen’s magnificent header on the stroke of halftime set them on their way. When Zielinksi won and converted a penalty kick after the break, he all but assured safe passage.
For the first time in their history, Napoli has reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. Napoli’s win tonight marks the joint-largest aggregate victory by an Italian team in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds, behind Juventus’ 5-0 Celtic win in 2012-13 and Milan’s 5-0 Intern win in 2004-05. (One of the legs resulted in a Milan victory). Victor Osimhen became the first Napoli player to score in both legs of a UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie, and his brace in this game was the first for a Nigerian in the competition’s knockout rounds.
Napoli has scored more goals in the UEFA Champions League this season (25) than any other team, and only three Italian teams have ever scored more in a single season (Juventus 30 in 2002-03, Inter 26 in 2002-03 and Lazio 26 in 1999-00). After Napoli’s advancement, Internazionale and Milan joined Napoli in reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2005-06. The three teams are Inter, Milan, and Juventus.
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